Connecting Readers and Writers discussion

Henry, I feel the same about social media: I am on Facebook as a way of keeping in touch with old friends but I try to keep my posts to a minimum. I avoid Twitter as it is almost entirely filled with drivel, and haven't even tried Google+. However, I accept that in this day and age, and especially as a self-published author, I need to use social media as it is one of the few ways of publicizing my book quickly and, more importantly, inexpensively.

As a reader, I have very little interest in connecting with authors (other than on GoodReads); I'm too busy writing myself.

As a writer, I like the platform of Facebook as a way for readers to connect with me, yet as a reader, I almost never use Facebook to connect with my favorite authors. If I want news on my favorite authors, I check their websites. Why? Because it seems like websites are maintained in a way that focuses on what I want to know: when the next book is coming about and extra goodies about stories and characters. In contrast, Facebook is a quagmire of posts frequently unrelated to the author's work and Twitter has become a mass of spam.

I signed on to Google Plus with the hopes of promoting my book to a wider audience. While that is so, I found G+ to be, far and away, a more robust and pleasant place to hang my social media hat. I use FB to make sure my friends and family are up to speed, but G+ is a doorway to the entire world - photography,the arts, authors famous and not so famous, and so much more.
I know I sound like I work at Google, but I don't. It's just that Google Plus has done social media right. I have over 1.1k authors in my circles and can access any of them for help, an honest review or an opinion at any time. That rocks.

As a reader, I expect a writer to have a professional looking website that I can go to and see a list of all their books, as well as possible info about upcoming releases, and a short bio. Anything and everything else is bonus stuff that you should only do if you feel comfortable maintaining it.

Sarah wrote: "As a reader, I expect a writer to have a professional looking website that I can go to and see a list of all their books, as well as possible info about upcoming releases, and a short bio. Anything..."

Hi Sarah,
Would you please provide a few examples of the websites that are presented the way you describe.
I'm working on mine but it seems to be a learning curve that is going slow for me. I was thinking about using Blogger.

Henry,
As a reader I'm not one for connecting through social media with authors I like. Having said that, I do view the information about their books through social media. That's from my reader's point of view. From my aspiring writer's point of view (before social media)I remember going to the library and looking up an author's address in Contemporary Authors reference book and sent them a letter with a stamp enclosed. The next evolution, so to speak, was conventions. Mainly the Science Fiction and Fantasy conventions (even Comic Con). To me, as reader or author, social media is a microcosm of conventions besides being an authors bio and works list.

As an author, when I started self-pubbing two years ago I was very active on Twitter, did my best to get a respectable blog and website going, and Facebooked, albeit not as much as I felt I should have.

Now, I rarely use Twitter even though I have 10K + followers, I use Facebook about as often as I originally did (which is to say, not much), and blog about every 10 days or so, usually about what interests me, which unfortunately, is mostly writing-oriented - and nothing is more boring for readers than hearing an author drone on about craft-related stuff.

Ironically, while reducing my social media presence to a bare minimum, my sales have gone parabolic, and I'm on a run rate to sell about a quarter million books this year, up from 100K+ last year.

As a reader, I think I've gone to an author's page maybe three times, preferring word of mouth to social media for my choices. There are some exceptions - I've had a few social media friends email me with book recommendations that I've really liked. Note that these were not their books, just good books they thought I would enjoy.

I'm really not sure how much social media ultimately plays a role in the reading decision beyond recommendations from other readers. I do know that getting event invitations for book sales or freebies or whatnot clog my inbox and annoy me, so that's an example of what I try to never do. I also haven't spent five minutes using Google+, so don't know if I'm missing out in a big way, or whether that's yet another time waster. I think that, from an author's perspective again, far too many waste their time with social media instead of writing good books, and it shows in their output as well as their product's quality. Without wanting to sound like a Luddite, I believe that in the end, readers will discover good books through recommendations from others, and much of the sound and fury of social media is illusory, offering authors the feeling that they're controlling their destiny when in fact they're just spinning their wheels.

Russell Blake

I understand the idea of focusing on "word of mouth" because in the end I do believe that that truly is how sales are made, but I think it's important to realize that the way "word of mouth" gets around these days is less through actual speaking and more through networking and media sites like twitter, facebook, blogs, ect...

I don't think it's necessary to be constantly promoting on these sites, and in fact I think it's better not to be, as this can be seen as annoying by followers. But I do think it is important for authors to have their books, or author profiles on these sites (and to update them as they work on new material) so that your readers can find them and share them.

These sites may not be how you communicate, but they are very likely how your readers communicate, and that's what makes them important. Readers will read their next book because of a recommendation, but they might get that recommendation from a friend who sends them a link to an author's blog/facebook/twitter via facebook.

I was rather anti-Facebook initially, hated it, it was too confusing (and I'm into computers and the Internet, so me saying it was confusing is something). But these days, I'm so busy, it's so much easier to keep track of everything through the one page, and Facebook it is. I have my favorite authors there, and I can get notifications of their latest book releases in my news feed alongside the weather, and photos of my friends kids. One place to check for all my news, so convenient!

As a writer, I like my privacy. I have a Facebook "page" under my author name, and there's no visible connection to my private life. I don't post about it on my facebook page, and I'm not bothered by privacy, because I WANT everyone to be able to see what I post. Twitter, google etc, I'm all signed up under my author name, no connection to my private life at all. You can be as private or public as you want.

I am quite comfortable being on social media and I am active on many of them. However as an author how I use social media is constantly evolving. Lately I have come to realize that most self promotion on social media is ineffective in terms of sales and at best, a waste of time. I am following what I call the Joe Konrath school of thought on being self published; the most important thing a writer can do to further their career is to keep writing.
I am still active on social media, because I love being on them.

Henry wrote: "With a certain amount of dislike, I recognize the importance of social media in today's interactive world. Most authors nowadays have a web site, blog on regular basis, have a FB page, and some eve..."

Henry,
I, too have avoided FB like the plague, for all the reasons you mentioned and one or two you didn't. This is despite having numerous friends (actual ones!) urging me to drink the Kool-Aid. With a book coming out in about a week, I've been thinking about this quite a lot. My plan, at least for now, is to send copies to friends who are active FBers, and ask them to recommend it on their pages. At least a few probably will.

Henry wrote: "I try to put my faith in the old-fashioned word of mouth, hoping that a reader who enjoyed my books will recommend my titles to his or her friends. Perhaps my hopes are unreasonable."

I don't think that's unreasonable at all! In fact, just today I read a Goodreads survey that found the biggest factor that causes people to buy books is a recommendation by a friend.

Here's the link to the survey: http://tinyurl.com/chcouhv

Yet another reason for people to recommend books they've read. Help out your favorite authors, guys!

Henry wrote: "...the reader plays an important role in both author's success or fall from grace. What I mean is, the reader has the power to weed out the bad books (there have been plenty of threads about readers being disappointed with a purchase) as well as making sure the good books stay."

Absolutely! This is one of the coolest things (I think) about the growing popularity of self-publishing. Not only do authors have more autonomy, but readers have more influence and power than ever before. If more don't post reviews, it may well be because they don't realize it yet!

Laura wrote: "Henry wrote: "...the reader plays an important role in both author's success or fall from grace. What I mean is, the reader has the power to weed out the bad books (there have been plenty of thread..."

I think you're right. But as writers, we can't be shy about asking people to consider writing reviews. They may not realize we'd like them to; and some may genuinely enjoy being engaged in the process. It's kind of a hoot going on Amazon, for example, and seeing your review posted there, along with noting the number of others who've found it helpful.

Rinelle wrote: "I was rather anti-Facebook initially, hated it, it was too confusing (and I'm into computers and the Internet, so me saying it was confusing is something). But these days, I'm so busy, it's so much..."

I'm the same way. I've kept my writing persona separate from my personal life. However this has made some things harder as I haven't used the connections I'd already made in my personal life to help me promote. I've had to build an entire new platform from scratch, which is incredibly hard. But I think a good place to start is to reach out and connect with other authors and grow from there.

Julia,
I've noticed the same thing. It doesn't seem to matter how much or how little time I spend on social media in terms of sales. My website and my blog definitely get the most hits. As a reader, I'm like you. I'd rather spend my time reading an author's books, not his or her social media updates.

Let's face it, we may all hate it....but the fact is there are thousands (millions) of people on facebook and twitter ... and while I don't think it is necessary to update constantly, or even every day, having that extra platform to announce a book release or a contest can come in very handy.

I don't think HAVING social media accounts means you HAVE to put your personal stuff out there on it.

My suggestion would be to set those social media outlets (twitter and facebook) up solely for the purpose of plugging them into your website/blog. That way each time you make a new post on your blog it links through the social media sites. It's a courtesy for readers that do follow those sites and lets them know when to go check out your blog for new stuff.


I also think that no, most goodreads readers, and definitely authors don't want to find authors via social media, they are too busy (authors) or have better ways, (goodreads). But frankly don't you want to have people who don't go to goodreads or other book sites to find you? Don't you want someoen to perhaps "accidentally" find you by seeing a comment or a re-tweet and get hooked on your books? Focus should not just be on READERS, but on potential readers.

John W. wrote: "Hi Sarah, Would you please provide a few examples of the websites that are presented the way you describe.."

A lot of current big name authors have great looking websites. Like Justin Cronin: http://enterthepassage.com

An indie author who has a good Blogger based one is Marie Landry: http://marielandry.blogspot.ca/

And my favourite indie author to follow on social media is Lindsay Buroker - she maintains a very active blog that is mostly aimed at other indie writers, but is still interesting to read: http://www.lindsayburoker.com/

Justin Cronin's website is eye-popping. Very visual and memorable. Wow.

As a reader, especially a reader of mostly indie authors, I quite enjoy being able to contact and communicate with my favourite authors.

I don't expect giants of the writing world to be personally contactable through their blogs or via emails, but those lesser known authors (but no less awesome!) I believe have something they can give to their readers that the more well known authors can't. They can welcome the reader into their world.

I've been privvy to teasers, personalised competions, writerly discussion on word choice etc. and that helps me to connect with the author on a personal level. I like that.

I wouldn't think poorly of an author if they weren't on social media, but I'd be less likely to come across them if they weren't. Word of mouth is important, which is why I review and blog about the books I read, but these days people are saturated with information and options to read, you really need to try and find some foothold to push your book into the spotlight, and through social media it can work.

ETA: Sarah I agree with you - Lindsay Buroker is someone who has a lot to offer her readers in terms of communication and being on social media. She's also focused on assisting other indie authors on their journey through the social media and self-publishing hurdles.

I've heard many people express the same concerns about social media. I was also hesitant to join social media, but reluctantly tried it three years ago because I realized that it was necessary if I decided to go the e-publishing route. As it is, I enjoy social media and there are ways to be "out there" online and still have some privacy. But then again, I chose to go the ebook route, so it was mandatory that I have a strong online presence. That was a personal choice I made, and I found social media agreeable to me. I certainly don't think any writer should be forced to have an online presence if they don't want to. My advice is to do what you're comfortable with. Where there's a will, there's a way to succeed. Best of luck to you!

I am in the branches of social media, though admittedly not as much as I should be. I dislike how everything you read seems to say I need to constantly be online marketing myself and my brand to build my platform and sell book. Well I'm sorry but I guess I'm a little too active in my "real" life to spend the required 24 hours a day they say it takes to do that. However that may be why I'm having a difficult time getting attention for my book and me as a writer. I go back and forth on trying to up attendance on my writer membership sites, posting regularly on my blog, etc to giving that up when nothing happens and focusing on my books.

Social media is an important marketing tool for any business in this day. I know there is a lot of information out there in the Indie blogosphere about how you need to be elbow deep on hundreds of forums, but the more I research the successful Indie authors the more I realize that isn't true. You need to have a presence online, but if it steals time away from the actual writing process, it won't pay off in the long term. Or at least that the gist I am getting from the Uber successful crowd like Joe Konrath and Barry Eisler.

As a college student, I'm pretty adept with the stuff. The most important thing is having a good product to sell--you'll never generate any word of mouth with a lousy product.

I struggle with this, too, but not for privacy reasons. The information that appears on your FB, G+, Twitter profiles is entirely under your control, and the content you post (the patterns it shows, etc.) is also up to you. The whole point is being found, and if you want your readers to know enough about you to connect with you as a person, i.e., to go beyond your work and appreciate your work because they also know something about you (your style, your approach, your philosophy, and so on), share that which will help them connect with you -- and nothing else.

Why do I struggle, then? Because to do Social Media the right way takes an inordinate amount of time. Most fully-branded big name authors have assistants to manicure their online presence. I don't. Time in Social Media is time away from writing and family. I wish I could offer a clean answer, a way forward, but I'm still searching for the balance myself.

Eduardo Suastegui
Story-telling that captures the heart.

Word of mouth probably trumps social media any day but to get started nowadays I think it is essential to have a presence somewhere on line. Personally I am not a great fan of Facebook. I have found it to be annoying and intrusive and now the viral element has been damped down to encourage paid advertising. I enjoy twitter because to me writing what I want to say in 147 characters is a useful discipline. It is a great place for haiku and micropoetry for that reason too. I think Twitter has made some difference. I have an account on Linkedin but rarely use it. I have never really used Google+ to full advantage so I can't say whether it is particularly helpful or not. I can see some mileage in having a website, but Google likes blogs better so they get more visitors. I don't know - I think you would have to be blessed with a LOT of friends to succeed by word of mouth alone but if you don't enjoy social media then you can't really judge its impact.

I may have already commented on this, but just in case, let me tell all of you that Facebook is pretty well worthless for promotion. That's the most self centered, shallow place ever. Twitter is MUCH better and generates more traffic to my website and attention for my writing. I've actually gained readers thru Twitter! Of course, Goodreads here is the best for readers and writers, because it's for people who love books. So I'd say if you do social media, stick around here for best results, and try Twitter if you want to amp it up a bit more.

JB, thanks for your insights. Like you, I came to this site and this discussion by googling 'authors who don't do social media.'

I swear I'd become so depressed at the idea that I had to infest social media (as the publishers and agents all tell us we have to) that I thought about not publishing at all. And I'm an old media pro (TV) AND an all-round geek.

A website is fine. As for the rest, I write fiction because that's how I communicate. I've even seen repeated injunctions to writers to 'be themselves.' Hell, if readers had half an idea of what I really thought about most things they'd be burning my books not buying them.

So here's to the contrarians. Talking self-serving cr*p to readers in the hope they might spend a few dollars is for the day job.

Rant over. :)

Social media? I still haven't convinced myself I need cable TV or a smart phone.

I have to say, Henry, I'm very happy to find that others are resisting!

The situation may be different for different novel categories. A literary novelist may be far less likely to relish the commercial aspects of publishing than someone who writes thrillers.

Certainly it's a bit much for publishers to expect to get a media star as well as a good book.

Fenderman wrote: "The situation may be different for different novel categories. A literary novelist may be far less likely to relish the commercial aspects of publishing than someone who writes thrillers."

Mwah, I'm a suspense fiction author, and I dislike having to promote myself. So I generally just participate in forums and make sure that people who like my posts can easily figure out that I'm an author.

I think it's important only to use the tools/social media that you truly feel comfortable using (it's stressful to fake it, and people can also sense the reluctance/strain in you when you use it half-heartedly!)
That said, it is something you could dabble with a little, and you might find yourself liking it more over time.

My adult children, grandchildren, and most acquaintances continuously express their amazement that I do not belong to Facebook or Twitter. I continuously respond that I have my own social sites, commonly referred to as cocktail lounges and restaurants.

I only joined Goodreads in November, 2013 to appease the marketing representative, assigned by the publisher to promote my novel, who was sending me weekly e-mails requesting that I join at least one literary website and do my share of spreading the word. Having become acquainted with some very well-informed and intelligent members, I am now very glad I did. Some of my best ideas have often come from others.

Aside from Goodreads, I leave marketing and promotion to the aforementioned marketing rep. and a publicist, also assigned by the publisher, along with a website, created and maintained by the publisher's IT group. I demonstrate my appreciation for the time and energy they expend on my behalf by following up on all leads, prepared to deliver a polished, well-rehearsed presentation, with book-signing pen in-hand.

Jim wrote: "I demonstrate my appreciation for the time and energy they expend on my behalf by following up on all leads, prepared to deliver a polished, well-rehearsed presentation, with book-signing pen in-hand."

And a cocktail in the other hand. :)

I have just a hard time with social media. I try to use it for reaching out, or people finding me, but it's a difficult thing to invest in. My problem with it is, Am I using social media just to get readers and people to hopefully come my way as opposed to making friends with sincerity and building a network? I don't really care so much about social media from my favorite authors. If I'm looking for a new book by them, then I google it to see if one is coming out. It's like King says, "It is the tale, not he (or she) who tells it." I agree, it might take longer to build up some traction, but I think you have to weigh what's most important: As I writer, writing stories, and hopefully finding fans through your fiction, not through social media.

Martyn V. (aka Baron Sang Froid) wrote: "Jim wrote: "I demonstrate my appreciation for the time and energy they expend on my behalf by following up on all leads, prepared to deliver a polished, well-rehearsed presentation, with book-signi..."

Martyn V.,

You have discovered my secret muse.

Jim wrote: "You have discovered my secret muse."

Alcohol: the fuel of flights of fancy...

Talking to publishers lately, all telling me how much I should be investing in social media. I wanted to say, 'so what do you do for your cut?'

If we have to market ourselves, why do we need these people?

Just found this, a reasoned argument for giving up on the trad publishing route.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brooke-...

Fenderman wrote: "Just found this, a reasoned argument for giving up on the trad publishing route.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brooke-......"

Fenderman,

Before giving up on the traditional mainline publishing route altogether, I would encourage you to perform some serious investigative research.

There are books and trade periodicals, available at the local public library, along with low-cost, and sometimes free, courses and seminars that include lists of mainline publishers who can help an author achieve his/her goal and other lists of those that claim they will, but actually do not.

All of these books, periodicals, courses, and seminars discourage the utilization of the internet, websites, and blogs as research tools. Recent statistics reveal that 97% of all query letters and manuscripts submitted to mainline publishers by unknown authors are rejected. Some do not take rejection well and often go on-line to besmirch the reputations of those who had the audacity to turn down their masterpiece. The vast majority of such claims are grossly exaggerated or simply not true.

Traditional mainline, independent, and self-publishing all have their advantages and disadvantages. All can help an author succeed. Once you have decided which route is better-suited to your particular situation, I am sure you will be satisfied with whatever you decide.

Good luck. I hope to see your name on a published book someday soon.

Thanks for the supportive comments, Jim, much appreciated.

Perhaps unusually, I'm coming to this conclusion from the relatively privileged position of having direct access to a good number of publishers and agents. The conversations I've had were what led me to a position of scepticism; these people were obsessed with the author's duty to self-promote, but clearly took a distinctly short-term view of their own part in the process.

The changes we're seeing happened in the 80-s in TV and the 90s in music. Now it's publishing's turn.

They invest less and do less now for their rights than ever before. I'm not seeing too much evidence to make me change my impression that they're getting desperate.

I'm sure now that my commercial projects are going to be self-published. They can have the arty book. :)

It has been mentioned before, but the inordinate amount of time that can be spent on Twitter/Facebook may be counter-productive for some of us.

My genre is horror/supernatural/mystery and I find that Twitter sells very few of my books. I stay on it because I like some of the people I've come across, so it's not a chore. One of those Twitter friends sells most of her chick lit through Twitter and various blog tours.It works for her.

I don't use Facebook anymore because it is leaky and prone to being hacked.

Goodreads is a great place to meet other writers, but I'm not sure it sells many books, for me at least. Linked In is also terrific for making new contacts and meeting bright stars in the publishing industry, but is only a part of the supposed 'platform building'.

Having an entertaining blog helps, but there are so many blogs out there that its usefulness is becoming increasingly marginal. Besides which, it takes time that might be better spent writing.

The answer? Get a publicist. Oh and a PA. And a marketeer. But sell more books first so that you can afford them...

JD

I haven't looked, but I imagine that a new breed of small, ebook orientated publishers is emerging. They won;t have the overheads of the traditional houses but will have the professionalism. They'll have to operate a different business model, one fairer to authors, but they will, hopefully, take much of the labour out of self-publishing and leave authors free to write.

If you know any, do tell. :D

Jim wrote: "Just found this, a reasoned argument for giving up on the trad publishing route.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brooke-......"

I chuckled on this line: "Great, beautiful writing is a simple prerequisite these days, hardly enough to land you an agent, much less a book deal."

I chuckled because of the numerous books I've sampled from the traditional publishing world that had neither great nor beautiful writing.

I'm a reader and reviewer and I find Twitter is a great way to promote books and authors I like. If an author I follow tweets about a new release, I retweet it to all my followers and watch a few of them retweet it to their followers etc. My retweet can potentially be seen by my 455 followers and if any of them retweet me, all their followers may see it. This could generate a few more book sales just from my decision to put a two line message saying I liked it. So if every follower of an author does the same...possibilities are endless!

I don't have a Facebook account and have no interest in joining it. I only joined Twitter to help promote Indie authors but I really enjoy it now. If you stay away from the contraversial topics and arguments, Twitter can be a good tool and good fun.

I'm really glad I found this thread. I'm an author and I unplugged from social media last year as much as possible until now.

I'm starting with GoodReads. But I can't bring myself to do Facebook or Twitter or even Google+.

It's interesting to see the results different folks have had based on how they engaged. I can't find a pattern.

I see some on this thread explaining they spent all the time and effort and it didn't help. Others say it helped nill and others say it helped a lot.

I'm thinking I need to reframe my perspective on the matter if I want to sell a lot of books. I mean, isn't that what authors are constantly told?

Someone else on the thread mentioned "finding fans through fiction." This is fantastic! This is how it was done in the past.

Couldn't it be said that it is still done the same way?

Again, I think my perspective needs to shift on the social media/requirements of it all. Waiting to keep hearing more thoughts on it until something "clicks" for me.

Just my thoughts.

Something clicked for me!
I realized I did have to reframe my perspective. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work and I can take it all down.

For me, the key was to find a comfortable medium. What do I want to use it for if I haven't readily engaged in it now?

To disseminate information that is important to me and likely to help someone else who has already gone through the same thing.

I get to pick and choose what conversations I want to be part of.

I can offer people "help" as I'm comfortable with it.

So, last night I did something unthinkable...
I created a Twitter account and more. Facebook was being kind of ornery about creating a fan page so I didn't do that one.

How do I feel? In shock. Excited. Nervous. Definitely new.

Just wanted to update this in case these new thoughts on the matter could help somebody else.

Ryan wrote: "Good luck, Misty."

Thanks Ryan. Not sure if I should feel scared or encouraged. Probably both huh? We'll see how it all turns out in time.

:)

I'm somewhat resistant to use social media to market my book (A Salish Season) just because it seems like it gets buried with everybody elses offerings. I thought I'd come up with a novel idea for marketing though. I live in a relatively small waterfront community in the Pacific Northwest. I made up some flyers announcing the availability of my book on Kindle, with little pull tags at the bottom with my name and book title. I posted them on bulletin boards around several of the local towns. Curiosly, the little pull tags disappear quite rapidly. But with no reflection in book sales. Curious. Just what are those people doing with my pull tags??? :-) Still looking for other non-social-media marketing ideas.

Hello Henry,
in answer to your question, as a reader I do not feel that my favourite authors have to have an online presence. I am far happier reading their books than reading any blog posts they may have written. If I do want factual information about them, It is usually about future releases.

As a new and totally unknown writer, social media is probably the only tool I have for promoting my work. However, I've so far found it ineffective. I have a Facebook page for my novel, a website, and a Twitter account under the name of my central character. None of them are getting much traffic at all.

I'm with Jonathan on this. Although I'm finding some author blogs interesting from my perspective as a new writer, I haven't bought any of their books yet. Does anybody?

Most author blogs and tweets come down to thinly disguised self-promotion, and I find it's turning me off the writers.

We';re all hoping to get a leg up from somewhere,but playing the journalist or inveigling ourselves in with fellow writers hoping it'll translate into something is a nonsense.

I've concluded that if you're going to be self-published the only marketing ploy that makes sense is to have three books ready to release in sequence. A hard road, but continuity in the market does seem to matter.

Just my 2c. :)